More info? What position, and what is your size? that can help determine how to get on the right track. Also, plan on a multi year plan to get there IMO, as it will be much more enjoyable.

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Gary Geiger
http://www.geigerphoto.com Professional photographer

TEAM KiWAMi NORTH AMERICA http://www.kiwamitri.com, Rudy Project http://www.rudyprojectusa.com, GU https://guenergy.com/shop/ ; Salming World Ambassador; https://www.shopsalming.com

Welcome to triathlon and endurance sports in general!

Your history of working hard, pushing your physical limits and mental toughness will serve you well in triathlon - it's just the type of work, limits and pain will be different than what you dealt with before.

A coach will really serve you well. They will be able to evaluate your current state and prescribe a good program for you and help you analyze the work you are doing and modify things along the way. Lots of people hire coaches remotely but I am a big fan of hiring a local coach if possible. If you are comfortable posting where you are, someone on here will probably be able to recommend a good local coach for you.

Since you have no experience in endurance sports, just getting out and doing any kind of regular swimming running and biking will help a ton. As you start to make improvements, then having the right scientific approach will start to get more and more important.

Definitely find a good masters swimming group to join. If you have never had any competitive swim instruction before, it would probably be a good idea to get 4 or 5 one-on-one lessons with a swim coach before starting with the masters class.

Edit - I echo the suggestion not to sign up for an ironman within a year. Give yourself time to prepare. I had an endurance background in college and after, and I raced tris for a few years (including 10 or 11 half ironmans) before I signed up for a full. If you are ready for it, you will have a much better experience and really get a ton out of it and be ready to sign up for another a few days after you finish. If you are not ready for it, you may finish but you will never want to do another one again. Start out with a sprint race, and work your way up from there.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Thank you Gary for the response!

I was a Wide Receiver, 215lbs, 6'1. Ran a 4.4 in the 40 yd dash, 38 inch vertical.

I have yet to break a 9:30 minute mile. (normally run one day a week, about 2-3 miles)

Also former D1 (o-line). Not sure where your cardio fitness is, but moving from the FB types of workouts to establishing an aerobic base would seem necessary. Don’t stop lifting weights, however. There are several good training books you might try. I have had good success with Friel’s “Your Best Triathlon”. A coach isn’t a bad idea either (although I haven’t Gone that route).

The biggest challenge mentally is redefining the the type of athlete you want to be. Not a lot of use for a 400 lb bench or 700 lb squat in the tri world. On the other side, eventually being able to shop at non big and tall stores is kind of nice. Best of luck!

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Human Person

What you bring to the sport is structure, discipline, a strong mental ability to suffer. Those are still strengths that are needed here.

Use those to go into the endurance salt mines and apply them to the problems of swim, bike and run. If you're not a swimmer, spend copious amounts of time working on it with good masters coaching. That will pay off handsomely when you've finally developed deep endurance capabilities.

Don't get overly concerned with equipment. Get adequate stuff to do the job that will last a few seasons. Get a reasonable bike and ride the hell out of it. Don't worry about $250 running shoes. Put 1000s of miles on $90 road-fodder shoes and develop your run strength. Don't be intimidated by the gear aspect. There is a lot to learn and gain there, but don't let it distract from the daily need to just get the training done. Instead of spending hours crawling the internet trying to figure out the best helmet, or which powermeter, or what race wheels....spend those riding. Those things will be important later on. Right now you need 1000s of miles of cycling, running, and swimming. And be reasonable about your training increases. You know this. You don't go to the gym and try a PB max bench or squat after a long layoff. You shouldn't try running a marathon a month down the road. If you can afford it, find a good multisport coach.

PS...leave the gym behind for now. It's ok for the occasional respite from the grind of swim, bike, run...but as a D1 football type, you have WAAAAAAAAY more strength in every aspect of your body than is needed to be successful at multisport. And likely too much bulk. That will fall away during training. And don't worry...if you decide down the road to go back to more strength-oriented sports...you'll find you still have that ability to do the strongman stuff. It's just entirely unnecessary here.

Good luck. It's a good lifestyle. Enjoy the journey.

this doesn't matter and while training for an ironman you really don't need to run anywhere near this fast.

Do a search for BarryP running plan. get yourself out the door for 10-15 minutes of very slow run/walking for 6 days per week. Then check back in.

You can do this. I went from worse than you to Ironman in 2 years. You can too.

So you're 6'1" 215# right now? So my question here is do you want to stay 215? Because you can be a competent Ironman athlete at that size overall. But if you're cool with dropping 20-30#s you'll get into a sweet spot for AGer.

No where to build fitness for triathlon. Swimming is going to feel like crap for a very long time. It is really about technique, but you will need to just spend time swimming. They talk about it on the bike in saddle time as well.

When it comes to running, I would start with easy 5ks at that 9:30 pace 3xWeek. Do this for a few weeks and then start adding time say 5 minutes, so if takes you 30 minutes, next week run 35 minutes and so on. Advocating for a lot of Long Slow Distance here before we get into speed work personally.

When it comes to your background in strength training, keep up the lifting except reduce volume and focus mostly on the power and olympic movements. Also, plyometrics are huge piece to help your running form.

Joe Friel wrote a great book called the Triathlete's Training Bible that I just finished, cannot recommend it enough.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

You are so very welcome! That helps a lot, as you're not one that need to spend time losing LOTS of bulk, unlike Darryl Haley the former lineman who took on the IM. You've got TONS of ability and mindset that will transfer well IMO. Check out Hines Ward, the former Steelers receiver, as he did the journey a few years ago. Hopefully unlike him, you'll be a lifer with us, as I feel that it's far better to start shorter and let the body adapt to a different training modality and mindset. I also love the fact that one can make it a lifestyle as I've been in the sport for 35 years now and still love it. Obviously with your abilities, the shorter races will be much more in your "wheelhouse" right now, and will give you a lot of positive motivation on the journey to Ironman. Take your time to extend the distance. You've gotten some good advice here so far. Swimming may be tough at first, but as you relax it will get better, depending on your current swimming ability. Just remember that no matter how good you get, the first 200-400 of any workout feels terrible! ;-). Cycling offers a lot of options, both indoors and out so that should gradually become more productive (Not easier, just faster!). I also would suggest doing a fair amount of your running on trails in nature if you can, as it's far more enjoyable as well as much easier on the body as you adapt to a different type of training.

I was fortunate to find an exceptional group of coaches early in my training that set me up with a minimal, but effective plan that I still function on well today. Their method was to have one ready on the LEAST amount of miles, as opposed to the large majority that IMO overtrain and burn out. There are some good plans and coaches available, both in person or online that I would feel may make your journey a lot more productive as well as enjoyable. What part of the country are you located?

I hope I was of some help, and please let me know if I can do any more. Welcome to an awesome sport and hopefully we can be of help to you!

I don't have any advice but as a B1G fan (MSU) I've been impressed by your work. I mostly remember you going over the top of DBs to bring the ball down.

Welcome to the sport. He wasn't much of a swimmer, but Al Toon went by me on the bike at Ironman Wisconsin like I was standing still.

You have some terrific feedback to this point ... my advice considering your background:

-Minimum two year plan with a progression of races and race distances (sprint, olympic and 70.3 distance tri's - running races 5k-13.1) over that time

- Ideal ... three year plan ... same as above with a patient progression of

Bottom line is do not force the progression "just to do it". Give your body time to adapt and to work on skills (usually swimming would be a weak link for your profile) to get to the point where you can actually handle the proper training for an Ironman. As a former high level athlete I'm sure you'll not just want to complete the event, rather do it in a way that you enjoy the process and progression and have a fair bit of control over how your race day goes.

Good Luck!

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Dave Latourette
http://www.TTENation.com

I did a Ironman 70.3 with Hines Ward (Wide Receiver with the Pittsburgh Steelers for you non-football fans). It was a two loop run and when I lapped him we chatted a little bit. He said this was the hardest thing he had ever done and it was only a half......

Advise:
1. Get a coach
2. Lose weight
3. Have low expectations in the beginning and you will be fine.

First and most important, I applaud you on your faith and boldness.

Second, there is a tri coach named Troy Jacobson who himself went from college football player to exceptional ironman triathlete (pro level). Check out his website, training videos, and bio to gain info on what he did and how he did it. (Spinervals)

Stay consistent and enjoy the journey!

Ray

215 lbs, 6'1? You'll be fine. I thought this thread was going to be about a 300 lbs tank.

I'm 6'3" and 4 years ago did my first Ironman at 225 lbs in 12:45. Granted, I'm down to 195 lbs with a 10:19 PR (with a 3:13 marathon) and it's much easier at that weight. I still lift weighs 4 times a week but don't care about what weights I'm putting up anymore, and take it easy on leg days.

If you played any team sport competitively then you have the structure and drive to do what you need to do for a decent finish Ironman. Just be consistent and put the work in (as you know from football)

Tom Morris Head Strength Coach at your alma mater. He too went from D1 football to triathlete and now paracyclist.

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Blog:
http://www.FeWoman.com/

Ed,

thank you brother for your wisdom!

i will definitely get some swim lessons and also start with some triathlons and work to a half ironman.

thank you!

amen! yes sir.

"buy a bike, ride the hell out of it"
"buy some shoes, put 1000s of miles into them"
"be reasonable about training increases"

thank you! you just saved me time and money. time to get movin'

"structure, discipline, strong mental ability to suffer."

thank you

definitely good with dropping 20-30lbs! dont need all this size, id very much like to lean out.

start running 5ks 3 days a week. the slowly add time 5 extra minutes.. etc.

"Joe Friel wrote a great book called the Triathlete's Training Bible"

decrease volume in the weight room. *** power/Olympic lifts

thank you !

Welcome to the Endurance side of sports!!!

Here are a few things that I'd suggest (I'm basing these suggestions on a guess that you're very new to endurance sports and more specifically swimming)
1. Make it a top priority (if not the number 1 priority) to learn to swim efficiently. Swimming, unlike cycling and running, is 70-80% technique with the remaining being the "fitness" side of the equation. While learning to swim, your endurance will improve drastically. Take lessons, and take time to do this right -- don't rush it.
2. While learning to swim, don't worry too much about the riding and running side of it. Get out and ride some, get out and run some, but be careful about cramming too much in. A fatigued body is harder to make move in the "relatively" precise movements that are needed to swim efficiently.
3. Give yourself a good two years before attempting an Ironman. This will allow your body to essentially switch over from being that explosive, short-duration, high power athlete to the "go forever" athlete that is typical of an Ironman.
4. Coaches can help you sort through all of the "Google" that is often contradictory. Use them to keep out the clutter.

Justin

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USA Triathlon Level 2 Coach
Slowtwitch Master Coach
Head Coach, TriCoach Colorado, LLC

thank you sir! i loved the deep ball!

thank you!!!

BarryP running plan. get yourself out the door for 10-15 minutes of very slow run/walking for 6 days per week

thank you ray!

i will check him out!


"there is a tri coach named Troy Jacobson who himself went from college football player to exceptional ironman triathlete (pro level). Check out his website, training videos, and bio to gain info on what he did and how he did it. (Spinervals) "

thank you justin! this is great man. i appreciate you taking the time to help!

"Give yourself a good two years before attempting an Ironman. This will allow your body to essentially switch over from being that explosive, short-duration, high power athlete to the "go forever" athlete that is typical of an Ironman."



Make it a top priority (if not the number 1 priority) to learn to swim efficiently.

Welcome

Don’t go overboard. Just get a simple book and start training.

For running, search up Barryp and follow that. Start small. You’re doing 3 miles a week? You can probably jump to 10 miles a week I think. But progress slowly.

Swimming your initial goal shouldn’t be to be fast but feel good in the water. Dedicate yourself to technique.

Cycling, ride a lot. Especially early on because your body will be able to handle this stress while you’re getting used to the miles on your feet and learning how to swim. And LEARN HOW TO RIDE. Develop skills. Very important.

Lose weight. Lots of heavy guys do tri and Ironman but you’ll be much happier without it. Don’t freak out about trying to lose it tho. With the different training you should start to drop muscle.

Finally start off with simple goals. A fast Olympic your first year. Then maybe half iron then you can think about an Ironman.

Good luck!

Lots of tips, but one thing I would advise is to get pretty good (fast) at one distance before moving up to the next. Pretty good is relative, but basically more towards the front than the back of the pack. Sprints first, graduate up to olympic distance, then eventually half ironmans, then eventually ironmans. Enjoy the progression. Get fast, then stay fast as you go longer. Don't try to go really long first, because you'll get stuck at "really slow" for a long, long time.

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Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com